Penultimate Construction?

The lead construction guy told us this morning that they should be completely finished tomorrow (Tuesday). Coco and I had the same reaction - say, what??

I think I knew (and had forgotten) that the rest of the work - sprinklers, grass, plants, etc - is done by a different contractor… who is coming tomorrow to give us a plan and a bid. 

The original guys got a lot done today - 

built a river ⬆️

and a platform for Owl Bob

(yep, he’s a literary eagle…),

using up most of the remaining pavers and about half the big rocks. 

Another reason we really like this crew: This morning hubby mentioned he was going to move Owl Bob’s bench back where it was before the demo, 

so the guys cut and fitted more of the slate into a semicircle the perfect size to hold the bench. It looks awesome!

Won’t miss this last trash pile!

Owl Bob and friends

Friday Views

 Friday afternoon views -

front porch stones are in place and cemented down, 

and the under-step lights are installed (blue tape under the curve).

Border stones on all the pathways are locked in place but the lighter cobbles still need cementing. 

Electrical transformer is installed so the low-voltage lights all work now - and there’s an app for that. (Of course there is…)

The largest section of dirt has been cleaned up and partially leveled. Looking forward to seeing what ideas the landscape guy has for the various spaces. 

Progress

Lots of progress today on the walkways 

Looking from driveway across front of house

and front wall. 

Highlight of the day was the extended and rounded front porch edge, 

along with the start of pavers for the floor. 

A lot of the edging pavers still need to be placed 

 Street view toward front door

but I’m hoping they can mortar everything before the weekend. 

 Fancy corner

Fingers crossed. 

 View from porch to street

 View from the side street

Stone Diamonds

One light fixture is installed (two to go),

cement is between the stones (they used a giant pastry bag to squeeze it into the joins),

we have a mystery trench (for a wall? electrical? It’s a surprise! 😜)

and best of all, 

Look at all those angled cuts and how well it all fits together!

there are diamonds and curves where the walkways meet. 

Still a bit more to do 

but we think they may be able to mortar? cement? the cobblestones in place before the weekend. 

Another Star

Decided I kinda liked this after all (translation: I didn’t find a fabric combo I liked better and I didn’t want to remake the quarter I’d already done…) so I have a spare block if I miss a month during vacation or the holidays. Or I’ll make a bigger quilt and use them all. Possibilities! 

We went out to get pictures at noon 

 Noon

and again after the crew left for the day. 

 Late afternoon 

I think I’ve already mentioned how fast they work. 

 Noon

It’s crazy how much they got done, 

 

and it was a smaller crew today!

Top left: at noon. Right & bottom: back side finished, cap stones placed and trimmed, lights installed.

At noon:

 The cobblestones to fill in the ‘v’ will be individually sized and cut

Late afternoon:

Quilty Question and Construction

Here’s another version of the August block. The small white arrows on yesterday’s block are now black - gives it a whole new look. (Not my idea, I just borrowed it.)

So my question is, what would you change on this? I don’t hate it but don’t think it has much pizzazz either. (The dark yellow has small bits of the lavender…)

Only two pieces are actually sewn (which is why the first pic looks a bit funky) so changing fabrics will be simple. These are the available colors… ⬇️

In construction news, curving pavers are going down,

more slate is on the wall, 

including top pieces,

hubby has most of the front fence replaced,  

and the pillars are wired - lights may go in tomorrow. 

It’s almost time to think about plants….

I got to pick out the big ‘statement’ rock from the building supply place. So exciting. (I love that top rock 😆)

August Garden of Stars

Gotta say, when you precut fabric the sewing goes fast! Sat down with my labeled piles and color coded patterns and knocked this out in a couple of hours. 

Very happy with the colors and glad I switched from the black and copper to this black dot background.

Notes for next time: label all the cut fabric piles! Cats and breezes happen. 

Don’t backstitch - start/end a couple of stitches over the line. 

In other news… remember the cat gate that was supposed to keep Coco from annoying Ginger?

Ginger’s first time sitting on my lap. 😍

Little stinker reached waaaay up above her head, pulled herself up with her front paws and through the bars to gain access. 

We had to add another layer on top to hopefully keep her out. 

Now she just sits outside the gate and yowls. Silly girl has opinions.